1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an incubator designed to bring up premature babies or the like, who are not capable of adjusting their temperature or the like by themselves without help, by providing them with an appropriate physiological environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1-5 illustrate a related art of the incubators. As shown in FIG. 5, the incubator 11 of the related art is installed with a transparent hood 12 on a base unit 14 on a base stand 13 for accommodating a premature baby or the like, and the hood 12 is provided with a nursing window 15 for applying treatment to the accommodated baby inside the hood 12 from the outside of the hood 12 and with a transparent door 16 made of acrylic resin for opening and closing the nursing window 15. Since rotation shafts 17 for the door 16 are provided outside the nursing window 15 and on the side of the base stand 13, the door 16 rotates by its own weight either in the direction to open or in the direction to close the nursing window 15 depending on whether the angle of the door 16 to the nursing window 15 is larger or smaller than a given angle, and the given angle is called a critical angle in the specification of the present invention.
The door 16 and the hood 12 are provided with door fixing devices 21, and the door fixing devices 21 consist of a nursing window opening and closing knob 22 rotatably installed on the door 16 and a concave nursing window opening and closing knob receiver 23 installed on the side of the hood 12. Namely, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, by fitting the nursing window opening and closing knob 22 into the nursing window opening and closing knob receiver 23, the door 16 is fixed by the door fixing devices 21 in the state wherein the door 16 closes the nursing window 15. The door 16 is provided with hand insertion windows 24 of one touch type, and the sides of the hood 12 are also provided with the hand insertion window 24 of one touch type and hand insertion window (not illustrated) of gather-up type.
A bed (not illustrated) for an accommodated baby is provided inside the hood 12, and bed tilting handles 25 are provided near the nursing window 15. While the bed can be tilted by manipulating one bed tilting handle 25, the height of the bed can be adjusted by simultaneously manipulating both bed tilting handles 25. A control panel 26 is provided near the bed tilting handles 25, and buttons (not illustrated), displays (not illustrated) and the like to control temperature, humidity, oxygen density and the like inside the hood 12 to appropriate values for the accommodated baby are provided on the control panel 26. The base stand 13 is installed with casters 27.
In the case of the incubator 11 of the related art such as the above, when any treatment is required to apply to an accommodated baby, a doctor, a nurse or the like releases the fixation of the door 16 by rotating the nursing window opening and closing knob 22 to remove the nursing window opening and closing knob 22 from the nursing window opening and closing knob receiver 23, opens the nursing window 15 thereafter by rotating the door 16 and applies treatment to the accommodated baby. When treatment to the accommodated baby is finished, the nursing window 15 is closed by door 16 and the door 16 is fixed in the closing state by the door fixing devices 21 in a reverse order of the operation mentioned above.
After finishing treatment to the accommodated baby, however, even if operation up to closing the nursing window 15 by the door 16 is performed, it is possible to overlook the operation to fix the door 16 in a closing state by the door fixing devices 21. Besides, if the nursing window opening and closing knob 22 is rotated to the same angle position as the angle position where the nursing window opening and closing knob 22 is fitted into the nursing window opening and closing knob receiver 23 during treatment to the accommodated baby for some reason, it is possible that though the operator thinks he or she has rotated the nursing window opening and closing knob 22 after the nursing window 15 was closed by the door 16, the nursing window opening and closing knob 22 has not actually been fitted into the nursing window opening and closing knob receiver 23, and the door 16 is not fixed by the door fixing device 21 in a closing state.
Moreover, if the inside of the hood 12 is humidified to a high humidity, the inside surface of the acrylic resin made door 16 exposed to highly humid air expands, and thereby the portion of the door 16 near the nursing window opening and closing knob 22 not supported by the rotation shaft 17 warps to the outside surface. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, even if the operator rotates the nursing window opening and closing knob 22 after the nursing window 15 is closed by the door 16, the nursing window opening and closing knob 22 may not be fitted into the nursing window opening and closing knob receiver 23, and thus the door 16 may not be fixed by the door fixing devices 21 in a closing state.
Furthermore, in any of these cases, if the door 16 is rotated until the angle of the door 16 to the nursing window 15 becomes smaller than the critical angle, the nursing window 15 is anyway closed by biasing force for rotating the door 16 in the direction to close the nursing window 15 by its own weight, and therefore the operator may not recognize that the door 16 is not fixed in a closing state by the door fixing devices 21.
However, since the biasing force for rotating the door 16 in the direction to close the nursing window 15 by its own weight is not strong, the door 16 is rotated to open the nursing window 15 if the door 16 is pushed from the inside of the hood 12 by the foot or the like of the accommodated baby under this state If the nursing window 15 is kept open, the environment inside the hood 12 deviates from the physiological environment appropriate for the accommodated baby and thus it is not preferable to the accommodated baby.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide the incubator wherein, even if opening and closing operation of the nursing window is not securely performed, the environment inside the hood can be maintained to the physiological environment appropriate for the accommodated baby or at least the environment inside the hood hardly deviates from the physiological environment appropriate for the accommodated baby.
In the incubator according to the present invention, the door rotation restricting means in the operating state restrains the rotation of the door in the opening direction beyond the operating angle. Thus, in the case that the door rotation restricting means is in the operating state, even if the door is pushed by the accommodated baby from the inside of the hood under the state wherein the door is not fixed by the door fixing means in a closing state, the door does not rotate in the opening direction beyond the operating angle and the angle of the door does not exceed the operating angle.
Even if the door rotation restricting means is in the operating state, the door rotation restricting means permits the rotation of the door within the angle between the operating angle and the angle at the state wherein the door closes the nursing window. Because of this reason, even if the door rotation restricting means is in the operating state, the door can close the nursing window by further rotating the door in the closing direction, and the operator can fix the door in a closing state by the door fixing means.
On the other hand, while the door rotates in the closing direction if the angle of the door is smaller than the critical angle, it rotates in the opening direction if the angle of the door is larger than the critical angle. Because of this reason, in the case that the operating angle is smaller than the critical angle, if the door is rotated in the closing direction until the angle of the door becomes smaller than the critical angle, the door itself further rotates in the closing direction thereafter, the angle of the door becomes smaller than the operating angle, and the door rotation restricting means gets into the operating state. Also, if the door is not rotated in the closing direction until the angle of the door becomes smaller than the critical angle, the door itself rotates in the reverse direction or in the opening direction and thereby the nursing window is opened, and the operator can immediately recognize the opening of the nursing window and thus close the nursing window again.
In the case that the operating angle is larger than the critical angle, if the door is rotated in the closing direction until the angle of the door becomes smaller than the operating angle but larger than the critical angle, although the door itself does not rotate to an angle which closes or opens the nursing window, the door rotation restricting means gets into the operating state. Also, if the door is not rotated in the closing direction until the angle of the door becomes smaller than the operating angle but larger than the critical angle, the door itself rotates in the reverse direction or in the opening direction and thereby the nursing window is opened, and the operator can immediately recognize the opening of the nursing window and thus close the nursing window again. If the door is rotated in the closing direction until the angle of the door becomes smaller than the critical angle, the door itself further rotates in the closing direction as well as the door rotation restricting means gets into the operating state.
Therefore, even if the operation up to closing the nursing window by the door and fixing the door in the closing state by the door fixing means is not securely performed, the angle of the door does not become larger than the operating angle, and also even if the door rotation angle is not sufficient when the nursing window is closed, the operator can immediately recognize the opening of the nursing window and thus can close the nursing window again. Because of this reason, even if opening and closing operation of the nursing window is not securely performed, the environment inside the hood can be maintained to the physiological environment appropriate for the accommodated baby or at least the environment inside the hood hardly deviates from the physiological environment appropriate for the accommodated baby.
In the preferred incubator of the present invention, the operating angle is smaller than the critical angle. Because of this reason, in the case that the door rotation restricting means is in the operating state, even if the door is pushed by the accommodated baby from the inside of the hood under the state wherein the door is not fixed by the door fixing means in a closing state, the door itself rotates in the reverse direction or in the closing direction and thereby the angle of the door becomes smaller than the operating angle once the accommodated baby stops pushing the door from the inside of the hood. Thus, the environment inside the hood further hardly deviates from the physiological environment appropriate for the accommodated baby.
In the preferred incubator of the present invention, the door rotation restricting means is provided with the operation canceling member for canceling the operating state. Because of this reason, even if the door rotation restricting means is in the operating state, the nursing window can be opened by canceling this operating state with the operation canceling member. Thus, any treatment to the accommodated baby is not hindered by the door rotation restricting means.